When the first season of The Last of Us hit HBO, everyone was obsessed with the "pun-off" between Pedro Pascal and a then-teenage Bella Ramsey. It was cute. It was heartwarming, in a "world is ending" kind of way. But then Season 2 happened in 2025, and suddenly, the vibes shifted. Hard.
Honestly, watching the last of us bella ramsey evolution from the spunky kid in the first season to the jagged, grief-stricken 19-year-old Ellie in the second was a lot to process. We saw a character—and an actor—forced to grow up in the most brutal way possible. Now that we’re sitting here in 2026, looking ahead to a confirmed Season 3, the conversation has changed. It’s no longer about whether Bella "looks" like the character from the game. That's old news. It's about whether they can carry the heaviest emotional weight of the series without the constant presence of Pedro Pascal’s Joel.
What Most People Get Wrong About Bella's Ellie
People love to complain. If you spend five minutes on certain corners of the internet, you'll see folks still arguing that Bella wasn't the right choice. They’re usually stuck on the physical comparison to the video game model. But here’s the thing: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann weren’t looking for a cosplayer. They wanted someone who could embody the soul of Ellie—the rage, the hidden vulnerability, and that weirdly specific sense of humor.
By the end of Season 2, which covered the first half of The Last of Us Part II, Bella Ramsey proved they could handle the darkness. We saw Ellie settle into Jackson, get that iconic moth tattoo, and start a complicated, beautiful relationship with Dina, played by Isabela Merced. But we also saw the "strained" version of Ellie—the one who knew Joel had lied to her at the Salt Lake City hospital. That tension was the engine of the season.
The Awards Don't Lie
If you need receipts, just look at the 2025 Emmy nominations. The last of us bella ramsey made history as the first openly non-binary actor to land multiple Lead Actress nominations for the same role. They’re currently the youngest two-time nominee in that category. Critics didn't just give those out for fun; they were reacting to the raw, almost uncomfortable realism Bella brought to Ellie’s trauma.
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The Season 3 Update: What’s Actually Happening?
We finally got some concrete news during the 2026 Critics Choice Awards earlier this month. Bella was on the red carpet and basically confirmed that the scripts for Season 3 exist. They joked about "seeing" them but not having finished reading them yet—apparently, it's a lot of material to get through.
Here is the breakdown of the production timeline as it stands right now:
- Filming Start: Expected to begin in March 2026.
- Location: Likely returning to British Columbia, Canada, to simulate the Pacific Northwest.
- Release Window: HBO is eyeing a 2027 premiere.
- Showrunner Status: Craig Mazin is back as the primary creative lead, with Neil Druckmann having stepped away from a day-to-day role last July to focus on Naughty Dog projects.
The scale of this next season is supposed to be massive. Mazin has already teased that Season 3 will be longer than the previous ones. It makes sense, considering they have to cover the sprawling, messy second half of the second game.
The Abby Perspective
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby. Season 3 is going to be a wild pivot because it follows Abby’s three days in Seattle—the same three days we just watched Ellie navigate in Season 2. This means Bella Ramsey might actually have a bit less screen time than we’re used to, as the focus shifts to show the other side of the cycle of violence. It’s a risky move for TV, but it’s the core of why the story is so famous.
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Life Outside the Cordyceps Infection
Bella isn't just sitting around waiting for the cameras to roll in March. 2026 is actually a huge year for them outside of the HBO bubble. They’ve been leaning into music lately under the name "Bello," collaborating with Matt Maltese. It's a total 180 from the screaming and crying we see in Seattle.
On the acting front, they have several projects lined up that feel worlds away from the apocalypse:
- Maya: A lead role in a Channel 4 drama series.
- Sunny Dancer: A comedy film where they play a character named Ivy, set to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026.
- Harmonia: A psychological thriller directed by Guy Nattiv.
It’s clear Bella is trying to avoid being typecast as the "grumpy survivalist kid." Honestly, after three years of playing Ellie, who could blame them?
Why the Fan Backlash Still Lingers
It would be dishonest to ignore the fact that the last of us bella ramsey still deals with a lot of noise. Some fans felt the writing in Season 2 deviated too much from the game's version of Ellie. In the game, Ellie is a focused, lethal hunter; in the show, she feels more hesitant, more disgusted by her own actions.
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This is where the "nuance" comes in. The show is trying to be a character study, not a high-score run. Bella plays Ellie as someone who wants to be the person who can "kill every last one of them" but is actually being destroyed by the effort. It’s a subtle distinction, but it’s why the performance works for the medium of television.
What’s Next for You?
If you're keeping tabs on the last of us bella ramsey, you should definitely watch for the Sunny Dancer premiere updates in February. It'll give us the first look at Bella in a purely comedic role in years. Also, keep an ear out for any "Bello" music drops; those are expected to hit streaming platforms before the Season 3 filming schedule takes over their life.
If you’re waiting for the show, don't expect a trailer anytime soon. With filming starting in March 2026, we probably won't see a teaser until very late this year or early 2027. In the meantime, re-watching the "Through the Valley" episode from Season 2 is probably the best way to remind yourself why Bella earned that second Emmy nod. The way they played the guitar—and that specific look of heartbreak—was peak television.
Stay tuned for the March production start. That's when the "leaked" set photos usually start hitting social media, and we’ll get our first glimpses of 20-year-old Ellie.